Song Dingxiang [Completed]

C32. Soap

Chapter 32

Eight Treasures Pickles and Zha Cai were easy to make, but the troublesome part was the Spicy Cabbage (kimchi).

Spicy Cabbage not only had to have a spicy taste but also a refreshing sweetness. However, this sweetness didn't come from sugar pickling but rather from fruits.

The Song family had fruit trees. Every year, apart from selling fresh fruits, some were dried to be kept for daily sale or personal consumption. Another portion was stored in the cellar to ensure the family could have some fresh fruits even in winter.

Moreover, people in the northern regions liked to stock persimmons and pears in winter. These fruits were frost-resistant. Even if they froze into hard lumps, after thawing, their juice remained sweet and moist, particularly benefiting the dryness of winter.

The sales of plums and persimmons each year were excellent. Every household was willing to buy some to freeze on the windowsill. Whenever they wanted to eat, they would soak a few pieces in water, and with a gentle squeeze to break the skin, the sweet juice would flow directly into their mouths, a delightful experience.

Pears were also an important ingredient for pickling Spicy Cabbage.

"I see you're getting more and more extravagant!" Fang shi looked at a basin of shredded pears, feeling extremely distressed.

In the harsh northern winter, fresh vegetables were rare, and fresh fruits could fetch a high price. Seeing these profitable fruits being wasted by her daughter, she couldn't help but worry.

"Don't you earn enough money to buy a few pears? Go, go, go see your son, I'll help your second daughter with this," Li shi's endless ideas attracted her attention, abandoning the warmth of the kang to assist Song Dingxiang in handling these items.

"You've spoiled her, how can you use pears for pickling?"

Li shi declared, "Pears can be turned into pear paste, so why not pickles? Pickled pears with salt are quite tasty! Look, if you're not going to help, then stay out of the way. Go on, shoo! Your son's crying again. Stop relying on Jin Qiao'er to take care of him all the time. If he doesn't call you 'Mother' later, don't come crying to me!"

"What's there to cry about..." Fang shi couldn't bear it and sat on a small stool, helping to chop the chili. "Alright, alright, I'll take care of this, don't make this thing sting my mother's eyes. I'm telling you, Song Dingxiang, if this turns out inedible, you'll be eating this all winter, forget about wanting fish and meat, you spoil yourself."

Song Dingxiang chuckled, "If it's delicious, will mom eat it?"

"Why wouldn't I? Can't I eat my own things?" Fang shi hypocritically justified.

Li shi interjected, "No mother acts like you... Enough small talk, spit has splattered on the chili."

Song Dingxiang prepared a large wooden basin of seasonings, originally intended for washing clothes but repurposed by her to mix them.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Zhao Di, Qiao'er, and Song Zijin lit a fire to blanch the cabbage. Besides the Spicy Cabbage that Song Dingxiang was making, every household took the opportunity to pickle cabbage.

Well-pickled cabbage was a key winter vegetable for them now.

The Song families grew a significant amount of Chinese cabbage every year, a common vegetable in every household. Some families cultivated just a small portion in the backyard, enough to suffice their needs, while larger families were reluctant to use good land to grow cabbage.

They typically grew it on the road shoulders or in uncultivated land. Although it didn't require much attention to manage, when the cabbage core formed, it was crucial to tie the cabbage with straw ropes.